Toyota Camry Rattles

Comments

I have a 2002 SE 4 Cyl that I have had since Dec 31, 2001. It has 24,000 miles and it developed a similiar rattle in the right front strut at the 20,000 mile mark. I was on my way out of town for a long road trip, and by the time I got back to town, I noticed that the front strut on the left side was starting to make the same noise. So, I made an appointment and my dealer looked at it the next morning. It turns out that there is now a TSB for this problem. It is a 2003 TSB and they referenced it on my work order. (sorry I don't have that at the moment) Anyway, the problem is that the strut tower bolts need to be re-torqued. I am glad to report that it works. If you have this issue, see your dealer, they should be aware of it by now. I'll post the TSB number tomorrow.

I own a 1996 Camry LE 4-door sedan. It has approx. 140,000 miles on it. When I am approaching 20-25 mph while decreasing speed, my car starts to rattle and vibrate. I notice a bounce to my car, up and down. Similar to that, when at idle, the car vibrates. Any possible solutions?

Tires have all been done. I don't think it is the tires because the problems would be present at all speeds. This is only happening when I am approaching idle speed or at idle speed. I was told to see if it is a vaccuum hose or possibly a sensor. I am going to check tomorrow.

My brother just bought a 2003 Camry LE and it is rattle free. He has owned it since November and it is very quiet. I have ridden in other Camrys and never have ridden in one this quiet. It was like riding in a Lexus!

if it will idle smooth once you take it out of gear, you have a transmission problem - possible torque converter.

If it still idles roughly when you put it in neutral, there are many possibilities, from needing a really thorough tune-up to dirty fuel injectors, dirty throttle body, bad wires, bad vacuum hose somewhere...and on and on...

If it idles roughly all the time, a mechanic will be able to diagnose a vacuum leak easily, whereas you will not. If it has been a long time, you could do a complete tune-up and see if it improves. Or, if it is not actually stalling, you could just leave it for now until it gets worse. But in that case, watch your fuel mileage - depending on what is causing it, you may see a substantial drop.

'02 SE had a rattle that seemed to be behind the glovebox. My dealer was able to fix it by retorquing the strut bolts. The TSB number is SU001-03. If anyone knows of TSB fixes for any other rattle issues please post them. I am having an intermittent rattle on the driver's side where the seatbelt mounts to the side pillar.

Well, I've had my 02 Camry for six months now. The rattle in the left side of the dash has been driving me crazy for the same amount of time. Spent countless hours taking the dash apart and trying to find it. (And liberally applying silicone caulk to anything that looked like it could cause noise...) Took it in once for that and the sunroof squeaking. They fixed the sunroof but didn't fix the dash. I finally took it back just for that one rattle. I was pleasantly surprised that the dealer spent as much time as needed (over 20 hours) to fix it even though their payment on the warranty claim would be capped by the manufacturer. They had the car for three days, and removed much of the dash, and all of the wiper assemblies. (They were even pepared to pull the windshield, which turned out not to be necessary). Was worth it to be without the car for three days to finally get that annoying rattle fixed! I will find out more info tomorrow and post it here. (Didn't learn what it was when I picked up the car as the tech had already left).

I did learn something interesting: not all known issues result in TSBs. Toyota maintains a support hotline that techs can call into for help with specific issues, including hard-to-find rattles.

To anyone in the Boise area, I would highly recommend Peterson Toyota; as they went above and beyond my expectations by losing money on a warranty repair for somebody who hadn't even bought the car from them. I'll certainly know where to go when it's time for another car.

I have had my 03 Camry SE to the dealer several times for the rattles in the dash. It is finally fixed. What is was I don't know or really care. I was told so many different things I didn't care I just wanted the noise to go away.

Now all I can hear is the rattling in the door pillars, I also went for a ride in the car and the Toyota Rep said it was from the seat belt adjustment. The qoute was "Any moving,adjusting part is bound to make some noise." Funny, my old 98 camry and current 98 tacoma never made that noise.

Anyway, has anyone had success in getting the noise in the pillars repaired. I just need to know what it is to let my local dealer know or else they will just give me the run around, AGAIN.

I haven't started tackling the smaller rattles yet, as I just got the biggie fixed. There were some posts here about the pillar rattles. I think self-adhesive felt (maybe moleskin for blisters) is probably the thing to use for parts that move or slide like the adjustable seatbelt guides.

The dealers don't design or build cars, but they do get paid to do warranty work--so I'd say keep taking it back... and be polite. On the other hand it's such a nuisance to drop the car off, be late for work, have to bum a ride later, etc., that I avoid it like the plague myself.

I'm going to take apart the B pillars this weekend, and I'll report anything I find...

You are a brave sole to let them rip apart the car...I'd have been nervous that they'd end up creating 10 new rattles....

This dash rattle...whenever it's below about 35 degrees my door pillar rattle goes away and my dash emits this annoying rattle. It seems to be centered back from the steering wheel perhaps up by the window. It almost sounds like two pieces of plastic that 'stick' together then release. I thought it might be loose trim where the defroster air comes out but I can not grab the right spot to make the noise go away so I guess it is somewhere in the dash... Was this what yours rattle sounded like? Did yours occur only in the frigid weather? I know many folks think us nitpicking but believe me I had a high tolerance for rattles (I owned a Ford) but these dash noise and the door pillar rattles are simply emabarasing!

I agree that it sounds pretty anal-retentive to be worrying about rattles; but the persistant ones are like Chinese water torture!

My dash rattle was fairly high pitched, like hard plastic or metal. (As I mentioned, it turned out to be metal on metal from a bad spot weld). Also, it was there all the time, just changed pitch a little with the temperature.

I was hesitant to let others take it apart, because the first time I took it to the shop they broke a piece of plastic and stripped a screw which I discovered when I installed my new stereo. Finally, after not being able to fix it myself, I was less concerned. Looking back, I think taking it to a dealer should be the first course of action. Tell them that you want a slow day when they'll have time to really look at it.

I could give you advice about how to look for it, but in the end it's very difficult to find unless you have a way to vibrate the car. The dealers have a device they use while driving--a bunch of selectable microphones with earphones. They change the switch to differnt pickups while driving to help zero in on the noise.

I guess you could remove the left vent and the radio trim ring and drive around for a couple of days and see if you can hear any better where it's coming from. (I think I did things like this for weeks at a time--my girlfriend was quite amused to see me driving my new $23K car around like that...)

I just purchased a beige Camry LE4 at the end of February, and have less than 400 miles on the odo. I am loving this car!! I will say, however, that I have been hearing almost on a daily basis what appears to sound like plastic "snapping." It's seems to be coming from the passenger side door area, and is very intermittent. In fact, I've only heard it during my morning commute to work. Indianapolis has experienced a fairly wide range of temps lately, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I don't recall hearing anything the other day when it hit the low 60s...

That's funny, my car also has very loud rattles that seem to come from the rear doors, around seat level I think. But, it's so intermittant that I don't tend to worry about it for long. I've looked once or twice, but haven't been sufficiently motivated to take the back doors apart or pull out the rear seat. I think if I just spent more time in the back as a passenger I could figure it out...

We own a '94 Camry XLE made in Japan. No rattles 9 years down the road. We own a '97 Camry XLE made in Kentucky. Not quite as solid as the '94, but the build quality is pretty good. No rattles that the radio can't handle.

We have a 2000 Solara built in Canada. More rattles than a nursery ward. No joking! Dealer never has been able to fix them. The JBL sound system cannot even overcome them. Even at full volume.

So country of origin will not necessarily get you a trouble-free car. I'm sure Canada produces many fine Solaras and other cars.

Good cars from Canada? After giving us Peter Jennings, Pamela Anderson, Alanis Morrissette and Celine Dion, I think they owe us something of decent quality. (I guarantee you that some uptight Canadians will take that seriously and get all defensive! We actually like Canada. At least it's not France...)

Purchased new Camry XLE in February, 2002.After hours of service at two different dealers,the rattles remain: on dash close to windshieldand in both front doors. The noise from the doorsseems to be emanating from "loose" windows.Am I condemned to this for the life of the car?Any suggestions?

I too have troubles with the window rattles. If you look in your doors where the windows slide up into, there is a little piece of molding surrounding the window. I believe this is the problem. If you put you window down a hair the noise is not as loud. Or as you are driving press up against this piece the noise will lessen. In message 145 from 02camryseowner he said he was going to take his pillars apart to find the noise but has never commented back. Hopefully he will soon. I am going to take my car to the dealer some time this week. Will they do anything, I doubt it, but I will bug them until I see the district Rep, again. It is sad that the district Rep and I are on a first name basis. I never thought this would happen in a Toyota. TO bad honda dealers are idiots or I would have traded mine in on a CRV a long time ago.

I just bought my '03 camry a little over a week ago and after reading these threads I'm getting anxious/bordering on fixation about rattles in the camry. sometimes i think i hear a rattle coming from my dash, but i'm not sure.

anyways, when do you guys hear the rattles? over minor bumps or on very rough pavement? I know for some of you they developed later on, hopefully they fixed the problem on the '03 camrys. When you get your cars serviced can you bring your car to any toyota dealer or do you have to bring it to the one you bought it at?

Due to a large shipment of faulty Radio/CD players Toyota decided to include Rattles as standard equipment feature for your driving pleasure. Your En-Route entertainment now comes free of charge and guaranteed for the life of your vehicle. WHAT A FEELING &#150; TOYOTA !